Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto
But if I did, there would be hella lot more scenes for Kakasaku!
Remembrance
Chapter 1: First Goodbye
The apartment had been quiet all morning, the young silver haired jonin stood next to his young and feisty wife. A smile was tugging at his lips under the mask as the two leered down at the small bed laid before them. The bed contained a small bundled infant no older than three months, the child's cheek were a light shade of red thanks to the warmth of the blankets. The nursery walls were decorated with paintings of animals, trees and letters from the alphabet. The medic had personally organized the design and colors with the assistant of the deathly pale form ROOT member. Kakashi was sure that he had seen Sai with a few fresh bruises once he had finished painting the entire room with giraffes, elephants, lions, and other fluffy animals Sakura saw fit. But in the end she always got what she wanted, even if she had to threaten everyone into doing her bidding. Sakura placed her hand on her child's cheek, she was pretty overprotective of the child since their leave from the hospital.
"Still so small" Sakura cooed to her child, she smiled lovingly at the sleeping baby.
It had been six years since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, although the war caused much damage and resulted in many casualties, the village continued to prosper. Team Seven was still in commission, consisting of Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto and Sai with the occasional guest appearance by Yamato. Not much had changed for the team, aside from the fact that Hinata finally gathered enough confidence to ask Naruto out. The two were currently engaged, though Hiashi wasn't too pleased with his eldest daughter's choice in men. Kakashi was now thirty-six years old, nearly fourteen years older than his wife. The age difference hadn't really bothered Kakashi, but he could tell that it had initially bothered Sakura; the gossip revolved around their life had calmed down after a few months. The source of the gossip was probably from the little flower shop ran by the loud mouthed Yamanaka kunoichi.
"You don't have to go on the mission." the copy-nin reminded Sakura in case she had forgotten that the Hokage gave her an option to accept. Sakura averted her eyes from the infant to the serious shinobi beside her and shook her head lightly. Although Kakashi had a point about it being her choice, they both knew this mission was for their benefit, the countries benefit and their baby's benefit. It wasn't really a choice when she was requested by name, her medical skills were infamous and her services were in high demand.
"The country needs the publicity, and I need to get back in action sometime, besides I got this hunky partner tagging along." Sakura laughed lightly at her comment, making sure not to laugh loudly enough to disturb their sleepy infant.
"Oh and who is this hunk?" questioned the all knowing ninja, a smirk forming beneath his clothed face.
"Just some old pervert." Sakura scoffed as if she was disappointed, but she was glad to be paired with him.
"I take offense to that, I'm not old." Kakashi objected as he watched his child stir a little bit to the familiar voices
Turning her head back to the baby, she stroked the cherry red cheek lightly but soon retreated her hand. Leaning into the crib, she planted a small kiss on the baby's pale forehead and tucked the blankets around the body. Straightening herself, she realized it would be the first time that she would be leaving their kid for a mission.
"We should head out" Sakura tried to sound optimistic but the look in her eyes said she didn't want to leave.
"We've got about an hour" Kakashi commented even though he didn't look at the clock.
"We're already fifteen minutes late thanks to you and the babysitter's tardiness." Sakura laughed, she always forgot to push him in the shower first. The shinobi took longer than she did, she honestly didn't know what he did and why he took his time.
"Sorry, I got lost on the path of life" Kakashi chided only to see Sakura roll her eyes and scoff at the infamous quote.
"I wonder if that's the truth nowadays" Sakura snickered at the saying, he could tell she was angry but the humor of it proceeded all. Standing straight, Sakura leaned into the copy cat and kissed his masked lips lightly. Kakashi reciprocated the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. He paused breaking the kiss shortly to pull down his mask and continue; they were then interrupted by the sound of knocking (banging) on the front door. Kakashi's head dipped ever so slightly in defeat, it was hard to get some alone time now a days and it seemed like everyone wanted to push them apart.
"Forehead! I got up at this ugly hour, open the door!" the blond yelled, not caring if the neighbors heard.
"Ino really is a ray of sunshine in the morning" Kakashi said sarcastically then pulled up his mask, he wasn't thrilled she would be watching their offspring.
"Ino-pig is doing us a favor" Sakura reminded him, though they would have preferred Hinata. The Hyuga woman was too busy with her new job at the academy, poor girl had to learn to come out of her shell more around snappy children.
"And calling her a pig is better?" Kakashi asked, he never brought up their little nicknames unless it was to his benefit.
"Shut up Hatake" Sakura snapped, her brow furrowing as she escaped the clutches of the silver haired man and exited the room.
Kakashi watched his cherry blossom head to the entrance of their apartment to greet her childhood frenemy. A smirk formed under his mask, he loved making her mad and when she called him by his last name that only meant she was pissed. When she turned the corner, he couldn't help letting his eyes drop down to her rear, if there was one good thing pregnancy did to a woman's body then it was enhancing her assets. Once she was out of sight, he looked back at the crib to see the baby was had woken up after hearing the Yamanaka's yelling combined with the loud banging. Poor kid never had a chance to sleep in now, who could sleep through that screeching voice? Resting his elbows against the railings of the crib, he appeared to be in deep thought.
"I think you understand more than you let on" Kakashi spoke to the infant, who seemed to have smiled at the allegation, delighted that someone was close by. The child merely put their mitten covered fist into its mouth and sucked on the cloth material; drool dampening and darkening the royal blue gloves. Kakashi felt bad that the kids hands were bound with those damn gloves, but Sakura always insisted on things and that meant he didn't have a chance in hell of winning the argument.
Putting his hands in the crib he tried to make life a little more comfortable for the baby, he began to untie the strings on the gloves and tugged lightly. The fingerless cloth came off easily but were a little damp thanks to the child's constant need to put things in its mouth. The copy nin made a disgusted face, it was normal for kids to drool but still seemed unhygienic to him. Without thinking the silver hair jonin simply tossed the gloves behind the dresser hoping Sakura didn't notice their sudden disappearance. At least his child would have a peaceful few days without getting irritated by that damn cloth constricting his fingers together. Once the deed was done he put one hand under the child's head, placing the other on its back and lifted the child carefully. It was still awkward for the shinobi to hold the kid properly, having a medic constantly watching didn't exactly make him feel any more adequate.
Meanwhile on the other side of the apartment Sakura reached the front door before the angry blonde could break down their door. "Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time." Sakura grunted as she looked at her best friend.
"Good, wasn't sure that you did" Ino sneered, as she pushed her way into the apartment. The blond brought a bag with her, and dropped it on the floor next to where the family placed their sandals.
"I think the whole village heard your screeches" Sakura rolled her eyes, she knew that the baby was awake, who could sleep through that yelling?
"So where's that cute kid of yours?" the Yamanaka questioned as she had grown attached to the baby since the birth. "Just hurry up hand 'em over and get out of here already" Ino said as footsteps made their way into the living room. "There's the cutie" Ino said scurrying over to Kakashi, snatching the baby from his arms, she rocked the kid lightly.
"Sometimes I wonder if people think you're the mother." Sakura said with annoyance, it was common knowledge that Ino pranced around the village showing everyone the baby as if it was her own.
"I wouldn't mind being called mom." Ino laughed, her blue eyes sparkled with realization and amusement. It was probably a new idea the blond was coming up with, it meant that she was trying to make life a little harder on Sakura; probably going to have the kid call herself mother and Sakura something foul.
"Don't Shikamaru or Choji already call you that?" Kakashi questioned, he felt bad that his kid was some kind of object of entertainment for their friends. But weren't all babies treated that way? They were coddled and spoken to with that God awful baby voice.
"Never, besides this baby will call me mom until I have my own." Ino pursed her lips, the young kunoichi had been searching for that perfect man to start a family with to no avail.
"Yeah right, get your own family pig." Sakura snorted, her eyes then glanced over at the clock and a sigh escaped her lips; they were definitely late now. "We have to leave" Sakura stated as she put her arms out to be handed the popular baby. Once placed in her arms, Sakura looked down at the baby and the bright smile from earlier returned to her face. "My little baby, I'll be back in a few days. Make sure to give Ino hell." Sakura was determined to make this departure memorable. Kissing her child again, she hadn't realized that the copy nin was now standing behind her, peering over her shoulder to get a last look.
Kakashi had examined how much Sakura had changed in the last year, she was much sweeter and more nurturing to their child. It was amazing how motherhood changed people, but that fiery temper was still lingering and he knew it. Patting his kid's head with soft strokes to the strands of soft hair, he was impressed at how much the baby looked so similar to him. The tot already possessed a decent amount of silver hair on the base of its head, something that Sakura struggled managing. His eyes traveled down to his baby's eyes, Kakashi had hoped that any child they had would inherit Sakura's eyes. The mysteries of genetics always baffled him, instead of jade color or dark coal irises, the child had acquired a cornflower blue shade. Snapping out of his thoughts, he shifted his attention back to his wife; she looked as though she expected Kakashi to give a better goodbye.
"Be good kid" Kakashi said nonchalantly, he wasn't the greatest new father but it was a learning process and he would get the hang of it eventually.
"Wise words from the genius" Sakura mumbled as she placed another kiss on the baby's forehead, only to receive a giggle as her reward. Kakashi could tell this was going to last longer than he anticipated, the mission was short and their journey home would be faster than their departure. Sakura handed her baby back to the more than welcoming arms of Ino, she was about to turn around when she remembered something. Running over to the small closet, she dug through the bag of clothes that they had bought or received from family and friends.
"Aha!" Sakura squealed, only to return with a hat that was primarily cream with floppy brown ears which stuck out from the top and cream braids that fell eight inches below the bottom of the hat. The hat contained a face: two brown button eyes, one which was on top of a light brown circle and a dark brown nose in the center. Hurrying back over to the babe, she placed the hat on the top of its head pulling it down so it fit snug and comfy.
"It's starting to get cold outside." Sakura spoke like the controlling mother that she was.
"Our kid is not wearing that." Kakashi said immediately, he did like the fact that it was a dog design, but it looked stupid.
"And why not?" Sakura questioned, her face changing to one of frustration.
"You want our kid to get picked on?" Kakashi questioned as he reached to try and pull it off only to have his hand slapped away with more strength than normal.
"Stop referring to our child as "kid" or "it", parents name their children for a reason. And the hat stays, I made it and I don't want to pay for hospital bills when we all catch colds. Besides I made that myself." Sakura said as she gave him a look, that read "and that's final".
"And when did you have time to do that Forehead?" Ino asked, she always interjected into their conversations once she knew that Kakashi lost the battle.
"When I was pregnant and everyone treated me like a fragile flower who would break after walking three steps" Sakura complained, something she did almost every day while pregnant.
"You're lucky it fits, imagine if that large forehead was passed on" Ino laughed, the baby in her arms giggled as well, the sound of laughter was indeed contagious.
A vein began to form at the top of Sakura's forehead, her patience this morning was definitely waning. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, he felt a fight ensuing, the girl with the bubble gum hair really did have a temper. "Look at the time, we have to head out" Kakashi said breaking a bit of his habit for lateness just to avoid a bloodbath in their home.
Sakura sighed and let the anger go, it was something she started doing lately so she wouldn't influence that violence was okay. "Stay warm, and don't forget that mommy and daddy love you Sakumo" Sakura said with a higher tone to her voice, her eyes were glassy but tears didn't stream down her face like he foresaw. Kakashi opened the front door for the pinkette and the pair left with their bags and supplies in tow.
After exiting the apartment building, the two turned the corner and were on their way to the front gates. The two walked as though it was a normal day of strolling around the town, the copy nin pulled out his favorite copy of Icha Icha Paradise. The poor orange book had seen better days, the cover and back were spotless but the spine appeared to be wearing out. Kakashi may have always appeared to be reading while walking but truth be told it was only to appear distracted, his one good eye scanned the area. His eye landed upon the quiet pinkette, she was biting her bottom lip in what he assumed was anxiousness or worry. "Sakura" Kakashi said with a normal tone, he then turned the page in the book to keep up with his little act.
"It's nothing" Sakura replied aware of what he was referring to, they were approaching the gates at a good speed.
"It's normal for first time mothers to get anxious when away from the baby for an extended amount of time. Besides it's only a couple of days" Kakashi assured her, though his voice didn't sound like it. Sakura looked a little surprised, she then smiled remembering where she heard that quote from.
"So not reading that baby book I got you, huh?" Sakura asked with an innocent tone and devilish smile; the copy ninja had been caught.
"I never said I wouldn't" Kakashi corrected her, "Just thought it would have a more important role in the fireplace" he added after a moment's pause.
"Whatever you say" grinned the young mother, she was happier knowing that she convinced, no more like nagged him into reading the book.
Up ahead at the gate an older man was sitting on a decent size pack, his cane was in hand with the bottom touching the floor. The man's name was Naruhiko Shirokawa, he had requested for Sakura assistance with their small village near the border on the fire country. Apparently the village's water supplies had been poisoned and they needed an antidote for the citizens who drank the water and were now slowly dying. The mission was considered A ranked and called for two ninjas, one to discover the strain of poison and create an antidote while the other would follow leads and find who poisoned the water.
"Good morning" said the man with a groggy voice, he stood up using the cane for support.
"Good morning Shirokawa-san, sorry for making you wait" Sakura greeted, she looked a little guilty for making an elder wait on their behalf.
"Yo" Kakashi greeted, his calm appearance not altering, but his eyes were still glued to the pages.
"It's alright deary, shall we go?" Naruhiko had been yearning to return home as soon as possible, his village relied on him.
The group exited the village, the journey would be slower because of the pace that Naruhiko walked at, and his refusal to be carried. The day wore on, and mostly consisted of Sakura asking Naruhiko questions about the village and the circumstances that surrounded the mystery of the water. The trio would take breaks when Naruhiko got tired or out of breath, the stubborn many insisted on doing everything himself.
"Here's some water" Sakura offered as she had dug through her bag and handed it to her elder.
"Thank you deary" Naruhiko responded, he drank his fill and promptly handed it back to her, and continued their rest. After a minute Naruhiko pushed himself up using the cane and the adventure continued on the dirt path. Kakashi and Sakura walked in front of the older man, the two slowing down their normal walking rate just so the man wouldn't feel like he had to catch up and exhaust all his energy.
"The town is still pretty far" Sakura said as she tried not to sound pessimistic but it was getting harder, the distance that they walked thus far in the day was one sixth what they could have covered in full speed.
"Patience" Kakashi reminded Sakura, he didn't seem too alarmed with their pace since this was more like a vacation than a mission. The walking was the easiest part for them, the village would only call for playing detective. If he had to guess it was probably some young village teenager playing around with some experiments, some act of revenge by a rejected village member, or a complete accident.
"It's hard" Sakura retorted, she clenched her fists but continued forward like if nothing was bothering her. It was a good thing that Naruhiko was hard of hearing, she didn't want to end up offending him.
Once the sun began to set the three began to make camp for the night, they would get to the village in two days at the pace they were going. Naruhiko headed to bed first, he was weak and needed the rest if they were going to start again early in the morning.
"I'll keep first watch" Sakura informed Kakashi as the two sat next to the open fire, they flames were calming down but still emitted a nice warmth.
"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Kakashi asked, he leant himself back a little, his laziness was getting the best of him in the campgrounds.
"No, am I that predictable?" Sakura asked a little annoyed that others could read her expressions so well.
"I just know what to look for" Kakashi answered her question, then his eye left the flames of the fire and met staring green ones.
Sakura was struggling to say what was on her mind, she had been pondering over this idea all day. Maybe it could wait until they were done with the mission, but it felt better to say it now so they could get used to the idea. "This is my last mission" Sakura announced, she had mustered the courage to say it, she meant what she said, but would this be best?
"And why is that?" Kakashi asked, not out of annoyance but curiosity but he was certain he already knew the answer.
"Sakumo can't be raised with two absentee parents, your missions take weeks to months at a time. And I am of better use at the hospital, doing rounds and healing injuries." Sakura sounded like she was trying to convince Kakashi, though her mind was already made up and this is what she was going to do.
"You're right" he answered before she could continue to explain her reasons.
This caught the medic off guard, she half expected a fight from her husband especially since the rest of the team wouldn't take it so well. "Naruto won't be happy" Sakura replied with sigh escaping her lips, she would have to pay for two months supply of ramen just for him to accept the thought of Sakura not being apart of their team.
"If he knows it's your idea, then he will be happy for you." Kakashi replied then lightly laughed at what popped into his head afterwards.
"You're laughing at how he talks to Sakumo, aren't you?" Sakura guessed, though she found it rather amusing as well.
"I don't think speaking to the kid in third person will do him any good, especially when Naruto refers to himself as Uncle Naruto the next Hokage for every sentence" Kakashi answered, he was sure that sooner or later Sakumo will either start calling him that or ignore him completely.
"He will be Hokage one day, you know" Sakura said with a small smile glazing her face, she was happy that he would get what he wanted in life. Out of everyone in the village, Naruto deserved to have the life he always dreamed of, to be happy and loved by all. Sakura would support her lively teammate in whatever choice he made in life, and she would do it with an excited smile on her face.
The two sat in silence letting the conversation die between them, Sakura looked up at the sky and Kakashi turned his attention to his book. "Do you think he'll turn out alright?" Sakura asked, she had been worried since she found out about the pregnancy that they would mess up somehow and Sakumo would be brought up wrong.
"Naruto turned out alright, though your beatings might have left some brain damage" Kakashi snickering at the times that Sakura shook the blond nutcase, or hit him for peeping at girls.
"That's not funny" Sakura snapped, killing the moment of Kakashi's entertainment.
"We have a good kid and he'll turn out to be an exceptional person." Kakashi replied, it was a strange moment when he would say something so positive to her. "Unless he comes out with your violent tendencies" Kakashi added, completely ruining the moment for Sakura.
"I don't have violent tendencies" Sakura argued, she crossed her arms over her chest with distress.
"Tell that to Naruto's brain" Kakashi responded only to get a punch in the arm by a chakra enhanced fist. Kakashi's body jerked to the side slightly, thankful that she didn't put as much power to that punch as she could have. "Ow" Kakashi answered sounding hurt, then rubbed his arm with a free hand while the other held onto his book.
"That didn't hurt" Sakura answered for him, there was no way that little punch hurt someone built like Kakashi. Sighing a little, she placed her hands back on her knees and stared at up the sky again.
"True, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt my feelings" Kakashi replied with sadness in his voice.
"Shut up Hatake, and what did I say about referring to our son as the kid? Call him Sakumo like everyone else" Sakura asked completely aware of that happy little statement he ruined earlier.
"I'll start calling him that when he responds to it" Kakashi answered her, he hadn't chosen the name for his son but agreed to Sakura's wishes. Who wouldn't agree to an angry woman who just squeezed something the size of a small watermelon through something the size of a small lemon? The name did bring him pride, it was a good namesake for their child, but the name did hold a lot of baggage.
"At this point he'll answer to the kid" Sakura mumbled under her breath, she had a feeling it would take a lot more effort to change the old dog's ways.
"Then we'll legally change his name to the kid" Kakashi said quickly, moving farther away from Sakura at the same time, least he wanted another punch with more fire to it.
"You are impossible to deal with, go to bed" Sakura said closing her eyes, the vein from the morning present in its previous spot on her forehead. If Kakashi hadn't moved when he did, his body and face would have been attached to the floor about twenty feet away. With that said, the taunting ninja arose from his spot, placed a small kiss on the top of Sakura's head and headed over to his sleeping bag. Tomorrow was going to be another long day of walking at a ridiculously slow pace and taking frequent breaks. What could be more exciting?
A/N: This is my first story! Woot, finally got the courage to post this up.
Please no flamers, but review if you feel like stating your opinion.
Also I purposely didn't put their child's gender until they departed just to add suspense hehe :]
I will post the next Chapter soon!
Kiss Cherries